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Aviation History
1997
1997 - 0132.PDF
lE^fe HBLB U.S.MR FHRrr B^v -Ji f Jj -^ 1 -^4M r ^*^*1l Bjcyi Pre-production aircraft T-3 arrives back in Frankfurt, at the end of a long mission over Bo: Joint endeavours US Army/Air Force JSTARS missions over Bosnia-Herzegovina are vital for Operation Joint Endeavour II. Flight International joined one mission in December. ANDREW DOYLE/FRANKFURT COL BEN ROBINSON, commander of the US Air Force's 93rd Air Exped itionary Group (Provisional) says: "We shoot no missiles; we carry no cargo; our only product is information; and information dominance is the key to success." The system which brings so much to the modern battlefield without firing a shot is the US Army/Air Force Northrop Grumman E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (I STARS), mount ed on converted Boeing 707 airframes as E-8Cs. The latest deployment of the JSTARS, to Rhein Main AB in Frankfurt, Germany, marks a major, and long-awaited, development in the programme. On 15 November, 1996, the USAF undertook its first-ever operational mis sion with its first production E-8C (P-1). Since then, the P-1 and a pre-production E-8C (T-3) have been flown on an average of six missions a week over the former Yugoslavia. The flights were expected to continue for at least 60 days, with the two aircraft supported by five deploy- able ground stations. The deployment has added significance for Northrop Grumman, which is trying to sell up to 18 JSTARS aircraft to NATO, and possibly an additional six to the UK for its Airborne Stand-Off Radar (ASTOR) requirement. Lockheed Martin and Raytheon are also ex pected to bid for the ASTOR requirement, with solutions based on the Gulfstream Vand Bombardier Global Express business jets, respectively. NATO and the UK could both make their decisions as early as 1998. T-3 MISSION Flight International recently participated in a mission on board the T-3, which is fitted with a production-standard radar, but which still con tains some Northrop Grumman test equip ment. The aircraft has the standard 17 operator consoles, however, and die extra test hardware displaces three bunkbeds and an extra row of passenger seats which are included in the pro duction version. This aircraft was to be used for only a handful of further operational missions before being replaced at Frankfurt by the second production aircraft (P-2). The T-3 is clue to be returned to prime contractor Northrop Grumman for use as a software-development testbed, based in Melbourne, Florida. The USAF is to receive a total of 19 E-8Cs, 15 of which will equip three squadrons with five operational aircraft each, allowing two aircraft to be in maintenance and two to be used for training at any one time. Each of die $850 mil lion aircraft will require the equivalent of two full crews. There is to be a heavy emphasis on training as deliveries of production-aircraft progress at the rate of about two a year — our crew included several students and instructors. The aircraft carries a standard complement of 21 personnel, including two pilots, a flight engineer and a navigator. The five central com puters (three primary, two for "calibration") which form the heart of the JSTARS are housed in the forward cabin, behind which are the 17, basically identical, operator consoles. There is an additional console for die navigator, located in the forward cabin, behind the flightdeck. According to Lt Col Charles Freniere, com mander of the 12th Airborne Command and Control Squadron, each of the 17 consoles alone "...has more computing power than the E-3 AWACS [Airborne Warning and Control System]". Freniere points out that it is this growth in available computing power that has made development of the JSTARS possible. The E-8C airframe, meanwhile, is based on a remanufactured commercial Boeing 707- 320C, and the original Pratt & WhitneyJT3D engines and die analogue flightdeck have been retained, at least for the time being. The re- manufacturing process, however, has not been without its problems. The P-1 was grounded for nearly a month in June, following the dis covery that incorrect rivets had been used at sev eral locations throughout die airframe. Following a comprehensive inspection by Boe ing and Northrop Grumman engineers, the air craft was cleared to fly, aldiough operational restrictions were temporarily imposed. The air craft is due to undergo a heavy check in late 1997, when the incorrect rivets will be replaced. The performance and reliability of the con- 26 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 15 - 21 January 1997
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